Behavioural Dynamics of AI‐Assisted Project Control: Introducing the Wait Effect

ABSTRACT

Although artificial intelligence (AI) has been increasingly applied to project optimization tasks, its influence on project managers' behavioural responses during decision‐making for the control of project execution remains underexplored. This study addresses this gap by evaluating the integration of AI in project management through the theoretical lens of Behavioural Operational Research (BOR). Drawing on qualitative data from interviews with 22 project managers, we investigate behavioural patterns that emerge when AI models are employed as decision‐support tools. Our findings reveal a tendency toward Escalation of Commitment (EoC) in project control decisions, which we theorize is driven by a dynamically complex behavioural mechanism we term the wait effect. This construct captures managers' inclination to delay corrective actions while awaiting further confirmation from AI outputs, with such delays moderated by the level of trust in the AI model. The study advances BOR literature by introducing the wait effect as a novel behavioural mechanism and by illustrating its dynamics through a Causal Loop Diagram. These insights have significant implications for the design of AI‐enabled project management systems, highlighting the need to account for behavioural biases that may undermine timely intervention and project performance.